Development of a UAV-based multispectral camera for precision agriculture applications

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A&L Canada Laboratories Inc. (referred hereafter as A&L) has been involved in precision agriculture for over 20 years. A&L is working on becoming a major player in the development of remote sensing devices for both field and greenhouse applications and interpretation of such data for growers. There is current market demand for more mobile, fast, adaptable and easy ways to use remote sensing technology in the agriculture sector. It is necessary for A&L to build its own customized camera system, as none on the market are both light enough to fit on a UAV, while providing the required sensing capability at the same time. Our project is a joint effort between UNB and Western professors with A&L scientists / engineers and AAFC scientists to develop operational methods that use the A&L camera and UAV for various precision agriculture applications. The camera will have seven bands of 10 nm, centered in the following wavelengths: 464, 542, 639, 669, 708, 800, and 845 nm. The specific project objectives are: (i) To develop a second generation multispectral camera with enhanced performances for both greenhouse and low weight UAV applications; (ii) To develop a streamlined methodology for mapping crop damage surfaces from the images acquired by the UAV-based camera. This information is required by the provincial crop insurance agencies; (iii) To develop a streamlined methodology for detecting late blight disease in potato fields from the images acquired by the UAV-based camera; (iv) To develop a streamlined methodology for detecting powdery mildew, gummy stem blight and mosaic virus diseases on greenhouse cucumber plants from the images acquired by the camera mounted on a robotic arm; and (v) To develop a streamlined methodology for mapping crop nitrogen status from the images acquired by the UAV-based camera. The project is a follow-up of several Engage/Engage+ projects between A&L and the universities. It will support five Ph.D. students, 2 M.Sc. students, and partially 1 research associate.